The present invention relates to an in-line specimen trap, a biomedical device utilized in conjunction with a controlled irrigation/suction system proximal to a surgical site, and a method therefor.
During certain types of surgical procedures, the surgical site (for example, the site of the wound) is irrigated with irrigation fluid and fluid and debris is suctioned away from the surgical site via a suction line. Irrigation fluid is delivered to this irrigation site via an irrigation line. Many times, the suction and irrigation lines are coupled to a valve control system which is controlled by the surgeon or other medical professional. The output of the valve system, opposite the suction line and irrigation line, is coupled to a probe which leads to the surgical site. The valve is sometimes called a trumpet valve. Various trumpet valves are illustrated and discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,429 to West et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,857 to West et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,072 B1 to West et al. In general, these trumpet valves and other irrigation/suction valves operate by permitting the surgeon to control either the degree of irrigation or the degree of suction delivered through the probe or line leading to the surgical site.
Sometimes there is a need to collect specimens from the surgical site.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-line specimen trap adapted to be used in conjunction with the controlled delivery of suction and/or irrigation and a surgical probe or line leading to the surgical site.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an in-line specimen trap that has multiple operating modes, one of which is a bypass mode permitting substantially direct coupling between the suction or irrigation line (dependent upon the valve control) and the line leading to the surgical site and a second control mode wherein fluids and particulate debris from the surgical site are cycled through a specimen container.
It is an additional object of the present invention to have an in-line specimen trap with a third control mode in which the suction/irrigation line and the line leading to the surgical site are blocked off thereby permitting the trap to be uncoupled from these lines and carried away. Preferably, specimen fluid and/or particulate debris remain in the specimen trap container.
It is a further object of the present invention to enable the specimen trap to be used to infuse liquid to the surgical site.
The in-line specimen trap operates in conjunction with a first line carrying controlled suction or irrigation and a second line leading to a surgical site. The trap includes a specimen container, a cap coupled to the specimen container and an operator controlled, multi-modal valve disposed in or on the cap. The valve includes at least a bypass passage and a container input port and a container output port. The bypass passage limits flow exclusively between the first and second lines, that is, between the suction/irrigation line and the line leading to the surgical site. The container input and output ports permit flow through the container via the first and second lines. The position of an operator control interface determines the selection of the bypass mode or trap and collection mode through the container input and output ports. In an enhanced embodiment, the specimen trap has a third mode of operation (the first mode of operation being the bypass operation and the second mode of operation being flow through the container via the input and output ports) wherein, in the third control mode, the suction/irrigation line and the second line leading to the surgical site are blocked. In the third control mode, the in-line specimen trap can be removed and withdrawn from the suction/irrigation line and the line leading to the surgical site. Preferably, the valve for the specimen trap includes a valve manifold with the bypass and input and output ports and an operator interface on the cap of the specimen trap. The valve manifold is typically disposed in the cap. The operator rotates the cap relative to the specimen container and thereby selects the bypass mode, the trap mode or the seal (blocking) mode. The method of selectively (a) trapping specimen fluid and debris and (b) permitting suction and irrigation flow includes providing a specimen container, establishing, under operator control, a bypass channel between the first and second lines (the suction/irrigation line and the leading to the surgical site), channeling, under operator control, the specimen fluid and debris from the second line through the specimen container to the first line, and, closing the specimen container after the channeling step. Fluid infusion to the surgical site involves loading the container with the infusion substance and flushing the container with irrigant and outputting the resultant mixture to the surgical site line.